NBA Draft: Timberwolves steal Keita Bates-Diop in second round

After selecting Georgia Tech’s Josh Okogie in the first round, the Minnesota Timberwolves saw Keita Bates-Diop fall to them in the second round of the NBA Draft.

The Minnesota Timberwolves added size, length, and toughness to the shooting guard position in the first round at pick No. 20 when they picked up Georgia Tech’s Josh Okogie.

Now, in the second round, the Timberwolves added more size and length, along with a needed dose of versatility.

Names that were discussed as potential picks at No. 20, such as Keita Bates-Diop and Dzanan Musa, plus other late-first-round candidates such as Khryi Thomas and Jalen Brunson, all slid until the second round, and it became apparent that at least one or two of these names would be on the board at No. 48. As it turned out, it was Ohio State’s Keita Bates-Diop.

Less than two weeks ago, there were plenty of mock drafts that had the Timberwolves selecting Bates-Diop at No. 20 — a full 28 picks ahead of where he ultimately went. In recent days, most mocks had him sliding to the late 20s or even into the early second round, but for him to fall all the way to No. 48 is a genuine surprise.

Here’s a link to my initial write-up on Bates-Diop from a few weeks ago. An excerpt:

"If Keita Bates-Diop is on the board, however, the Timberwolves should took a long, hard look.For starters, the physical profile is almost exactly a bigger version of Draymond Green. Bates-Diop is slightly taller and heavier, with a superior wingspan. But even with a slightly larger build, his agility numbers are comparable to what Green’s clocked in at back in 2012.…Where the Ohio State alum’s career deviates from Green’s own Big Ten career at Michigan State, however, is in some of the peripheral numbers.Green was a far superior rebounder (career college rebound rate of 18 percent compared to 13.2 percent for Bates-Diop) and distributor (career college assist rate of 24.6 percent compared to Bates-Diop’s 9.3). His higher steal rate also suggests better awareness and positioning on defense (3 percent versus 1.5), although Bates-Diop did have a better block rate than Green."

In short, the physical profile and agility testing at the combine is eerily similar. Both played four years in the Big Ten and were named the Player of the Year as seniors. And both slid into the second round of their respective draft.

Green’s rebounding and assist rates are not insignificant, and given some of the injury issues that Bates-Diop has had, it’s fair to say that his ceiling probably isn’t quite as high as what we’ve seen from Green, who has won an NBA Defensive Player of the Year award and already been named to three All-Star teams.

But while hitting a home run at No. 48 would be nice, simply knocking a double into the gap and getting a solid rotation player who can play two or three positions would be a huge win. Bates-Diop should have enough size and athleticism to be an effective NBA defender, and he should shoot enough to not be a liability on offense.

The lack of passing and rebounding could hurt, but if he’s played in short minutes (and, let’s face it, if Tom Thibodeau is his coach, that’s exactly what he can expect), he’s likely to be a valuable NBA player from the get-go.

Kudos to Tom Thibodeau and Scott Layden for getting two consensus late first-round talents without having to maneuver around and sell off assets. This is about as good of a draft performance as Timberwolves fans could have hoped for coming into the night.

Next: Will Jimmy Butler consider joining the Nets next summer?

We’ll have ongoing reaction to the picks and how they’ll fit with the Timberwolves’ current roster throughout the weekend.